American Sign Language

Douglas College offers instruction in American Sign Language (ASL) which complies with provincial guidelines for the college level. Courses are taught by immersion - all instructors are Deaf and all communication is visual. You check your "voice box" at the door as you enter the class to learn this visual gestural language, the fourth most widely-used language in Canada. 

Instructor Norma Dunkley holds an American Sign Language Instructor Program (ASLIP) Certificate.

Prep Level Courses

Visual and Gestural Base is a 5 hour class (no textbook required). 

All Prep classes are 30 hours (12 classes). Required Materials: Vista Signing Naturally available in the Douglas College Bookstore. 

Prep I and Prep II: Signing Naturally Units 1 to 6

Prep III and Prep IV: Signing Naturally Units 7 to 12

Visual and Gestural Base for Sign Language Acquisition

This course introduces the realm of visual communication in preparation for learning ASL. Using a series of games and learning activities, students develop essential visual perception and freedom of physical movement in the head, face, neck and torso critical to the development of signing skills. In addition, students have an opportunity to convey a range of emotive utterances visually.

ASL Prep I

This course provides an introduction to ASL for individuals who have little or no knowledge of the language. Based on principles of second-language acquisition, students learn to recognize various visual grammatical features of the language and develop beginning-level vocabulary. This includes basic introductions, exchange of personal information and to talk about their surroundings. In addition, students learn how to form questions and give basic directions. They also gain an understanding of the Deaf community, the impact of handedness on signing and the use of visual three-dimensional space in ASL.

ASL Prep II

Building on Prep I, this course provides further introduction to ASL for individuals who have little or no knowledge of the language. Students begin to discuss personal information, including where they live, family information and their various physical activities. Students begin to refine visual perception to assist with receptive skills in the language. Students are introduced to spatial referencing, contrastive structures, the expression of time and the formulation of negative statements, fingerspelling and some rules for social interaction.

ASL Prep III

This course begins with a cumulative review of Prep I and II, including norms for getting attention, understanding the role of name signs, negotiating a signing environment, asking for repetition, meeting others and gaining basic information about the daily lives of Deaf people. Building on Prep II, students begin to make simple requests, give directions and learn how to identify other people. Numbers are introduced and students develop a basic understanding of various types of verbs.

ASL Prep IV

Students learn how to discuss families with greater detail, including occupations and ages. The concept of role shifting is introduced and applied to descriptions of others. Students begin to discuss daily routines, including clock numbers and activities. In addition, students are provided with a brief history of Deaf people in the US and Canada, learn rules for interrupting conversations and other rules for social interaction.